[Vagirl22]

My fiancee and I are considering moving to Panama City or fairly nearby area. What is the area like? I am finishing up college this semsester so I know the spring break side of panama city, but how is "real life" in panama city? How is the real estate? How is the job market?

I live in Virginia Beach, VA which is a huge tourist area so the tourists do not bother me anymore, but I don't want to live somewhere if it won't suit my lifestyle. We are getting married in the fall and are young so we like to be able to go out and have a good time. We want to be able to start a family maybe 5 or so years from now therefore we are wondering about the neighborhoods/schools also.

Any information you can give us we would appreciate!!! Thanks!!

[ellie]

I worked in the area last summer and considered returning but the traffic is terrible and the town itself is rather ugly. I also didn't see much promise of a cultural scene in the way of good music and other arts, right in PC. I spoke to a number of younger people in some of the stores I shopped in (people are friendly) and they all hung out in some of the bars on the eastern end of the strip towards the Bay in PC Beach. The music and club scene looked pretty generic. Those were my personal values and may not be yours.

Property values in PC exploded over the past five years. They've leveled off a bit in the last year but it looks to me like only the highest end properties dropped their prices substantially. I kept an eye out for nice neighborhoods near the Bay, as I didn't want to live on the north or eastern side of town due to the heavy traffic and long commute. But the neighborhoods that held the most promise (IMO), the ones with historic and older homes, were only a block or two wide and rapidly became ultra sketchy looking.

According to what I found online, PC was considered to be poised for substantial growth, physically and economically. There are quite a few upscale, new urbanist developments to the west of town. I couldn't afford a +700k home, though.

There were a few beach bungalows in the area just west of PC Beach that were small, very small, but somewhat affordable, around 200K. Lynn Haven and some of the other suburbs seemed to be popular with people who are married with kids.

I think service sector and construction related work is still pretty strong in the area. They have a port that is growing rapidly. Depending on what you plan to do for a living you can probably find work. If I were you, I'd try renting a place for a few months and see if it suits you. You can always wait tables to pay the bills, at least in the spring and summer.

All of that being said, I still think PC has potential as it appears to be in a transitional phase, headed up. If you can find work in your field, you may find yourself in the right place at the right time.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Ellie gives a very thorough and accurate description.

[Godsentone78]

Hey, Is the Miracle Strip Amusement Park still open? I heard that the Starliner coaster was pretty cool.